Electrical connector assembly with lockable structures

ABSTRACT

An electrical connector assembly includes a board end connector and a wire end connector. The board end connector includes a board end connector shell and a board end connector body. The wire end connector includes a wire end case and a tongue plate. At least one guide piece is extended from one of the board end connector shell and the wire end case, and a remaining one of the board end connector shell and the wire end case is provided with at least one guide slot for creating a butt joint with the guide piece. The electrical connector assembly of the present disclosure utilizes the space of the board end to the maximum extent, solves the problem that the CPU occupies the space of the board end due to the increased size of the heat dissipation module, and can realize high-speed data transmission.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/397,406, filed Apr. 29, 2019, which is in condition for allowance andclaims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) on Patent Application No.201820826642.0 filed in P.R. China on May 30, 2018, the entire contentsof which are hereby incorporated by reference.

Some references, if any, which may include patents, patent applicationsand various publications, may be cited and discussed in the descriptionof this invention. The citation and/or discussion of such references, ifany, is provided merely to clarify the description of the presentdisclosure and is not an admission that any such reference is “priorart” to the invention described herein. All references listed, citedand/or discussed in this specification are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties and to the same extent as if eachreference was individually incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a connector assembly, in particular toan electrical connector assembly with lockable structures.

BACKGROUND

With the increase of the network age, the requirements on dataprocessing and transmission speed are increased, the performance anddevice density of the corresponding servers, workstations and CPUs inthe I/O memory are synchronously improved, and certain challenges arebrought to the device size and the heat dissipation of the servers.Generally, the heat sink occupies a large space on the printed circuitboard, and the space between the heat sink and the printed circuit boardin the height direction is small, such that the conventional connectorcannot be arranged below the heat sink, and it is difficult to utilizethe redundant space below the heat sink, resulting in wasted space ofthe printed circuit board is wasted.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a high-speed connector on a high-densityMINI version chip side, which has small size and the height of less than3.7 mm, can be placed under a heat sink of a chip, and has thetransmission speed up to 56 Gbit/s. The space of the board end isutilized to the maximum extent, and the problem that the CPU occupiesthe space of the board end due to the size expansion of the radiatingmodule is solved.

To achieve the above object, the present disclosure provides ahigh-speed connector on a high-density MINI version chip side,comprising: a board end connector, a wire end connector and a printedcircuit board; the board end connector is arranged on the printedcircuit board; the board end connector comprises a board end connectorshell and a board end connector body arranged in the board end connectorshell; the wire end connector comprises a wire end case and a tongueplate fixed to the wire end case; wherein at least one guide pieceextends from the board end connector shell, and the wire end case isprovided with at least one guide slot for creating a butt joint with theguide piece.

The present disclosure also provides a printed circuit board layoutstructure, comprising: a connector, a chip and a heat sink arranged onthe chip, the connector is arranged below the heat sink, the connectorcomprises: a board end connector, a wire end connector and a printedcircuit board; the board end connector is arranged on the printedcircuit board; the board end connector comprises a board end connectorshell and a board end connector body arranged in the hoard end connectorshell; the wire end connector comprises a wire end case and a tongueplate fixed to the wire end case; wherein at least one guide pieceextends from the board end connector shell, and the wire end case isprovided with at least one guide slot for creating a butt joint with theguide piece.

The beneficial effects of the present disclosure are: the space of theboard end is utilized to the maximum extent, the problem that the CPUoccupies the space of the board end due to the increased size of theheat dissipation module is solved, and high-speed data transmission canbe realized.

The present disclosure will be described in detail below with referenceto the following drawings and embodiments, but the present disclosure isnot limited thereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electrical connector assembly of thepresent disclosure in a separated state;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the electrical connector assembly of thepresent disclosure in a use state;

FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of the electrical connector assembly ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the electrical connector assembly ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic view of the connected portions of theelectrical connector assembly of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a partial schematic view of the lockable snap portion of theelectrical connector assembly of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged schematic view of the engagement portion of theelectrical connector assembly of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the board end connector of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a system using the electrical connectorassembly of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the electrical connector assembly of thepresent disclosure.

LIST OF THE REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   -   100 Connector    -   101 Board end connector shell    -   102 Board end connector body    -   103 Wire end case    -   104 Tongue plate    -   105 Lockable snap    -   106 Board end connector    -   107 Wire end connector    -   109 Printed circuit board    -   110 Guide piece    -   111 Guide projection    -   112 Guide slot    -   113 Welding foot    -   114 Snap protrusion    -   115 Slot    -   116 Step    -   117 Conductive terminal    -   118 Conductive plastic

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The structural principle and the operational principle of the presentdisclosure will be described in detail below with reference to theattached drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an electrical connector assembly100 of the present disclosure in separated state. As shown in FIG. 1,the electrical connector assembly 100 is a high-speed electricalconnector assembly on high density MINI version chip side of the presentdisclosure. The electrical connector assembly includes a first connectorsuch as a hoard end connector 106, a second connector such as a wire endconnector 107 and a printed circuit board 109. Both of the board endconnector 106 and the wire end connector 107 are used cooperatively.

The board end connector 106 is mounted on the printed circuit board 109and comprises a board end connector shell 101 and a board end connectorbody 102 embedded in the board end connector shell 101. Referring toFIG. 1, the board end connector 106 includes an insertion surface 1021and a receiving slot 1022 extending through the insertion surface 1021to receive the wire end connector 107 along a mating direction M.

The wire end connector 107 comprises a wire end case 103, a tongue plate104, a wire end body (not shown) and a lockable snap 105. The tongueplate 104 is covered by the wire end body, the wire end case 103 coversthe wire end body and is fixed to the wire end body, and the lockablesnap 105 is arranged at both sides of the wire end case 103.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the electrical connector assembly100 of the present disclosure in a use state. As shown in FIG. 2, whenusing, the wire end connector 107 is aligned with the board endconnector 106 and inserted into the board end connector 106, and thelockable snap 105 is pressed after insertion, such that the wire endconnector 107 and the board end connector 106 can be tightly combined.

FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of the electrical connector assembly 100of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the electrical connectorassembly 100 of the present disclosure has a body portion of a length L,preferably 18-20 mm, and a width W, preferably 13-15 mm, after the wireend connector 107 is coupled to the board end connector 106.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of the electrical connector assembly 100of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the electrical connectorassembly 100 of the present disclosure has a body portion of a thicknessH less than 3.7 mm, after the wire end connector 107 is coupled to theboard end connector 106.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic view of the connected portions of theelectrical connector assembly 100 of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 5, both sides of the board end connector shell 101 are providedwith two guide pieces 110 extending outwards from the board endconnector 106, and the guide pieces 110 are integrally formed with theboard end connector shell 101. Both sides of the wire end case 103 haveat least one guide projection 111 extending outward, and the guideprojection 111 is integrally formed with the wire end case 103. The wireend case 103 includes a main portion 119. The guide projections 111extend sidewardly from the main portion 119 for mating with thecorresponding guide pieces 110. Both side surfaces of the wire end case103 have guide slots 112 recessed toward each other. The guideprojection 111 is disposed at an edge of the guide slot 112, and theguide projection 111 surrounds at least a portion of the guide slot 112.

When inserting the wire end connector 107 into the board end connector106, the wire end connector 107 should be inserted into the board endconnector 106 after aligning the two guide pieces 110 of the board endconnector 106 with the guide slots 112 of the wire end connector 107.During the plugging process, the guide pieces 110, the guide projection111 and the guide slots 112 are matched with each other, to provide aplugging alignment mechanism for the wire end connector 107 and theboard end connector 106, and prevent improper plugging in the wrongdirection.

When the wire end connector 107 is inserted into the board end connector106, the guide piece 110 is inserted into the guide slot 112, such thatthe guide piece 110 is disposed between the wire end case 103 and theguide projection 111, the guide projection 111 located on both sides ofthe guide piece 110 abuts against the guide piece 110, so it is possibleto prevent the wire end connector 107 from applying an improper force ina direction other than the abutting direction due to the wire bending,and to reduce the damage when the board end connector 106 is buttjointed with the wire end connector 107.

In addition, a welding foot 113 is disposed at one end of the guidepiece 110, and the welding foot 113 is formed by the extension of theguide piece 110 and is integrally formed with the guide piece 110. Thewelding foot 113 can also be extended from the board end connector shell101 and disposed front than the guide piece 110 along a rear-to-frontdirection away from the board end connector body 102. The welding foot113 is inserted to the printed circuit board 109 and can serve to fixthe guide piece 110 to enhance the fixing strength of the guide piece110. The welding foot 113 can be directly fixed to the printed circuitboard 109 or be fixed to the printed circuit board 109 via a solderingor welding material.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the lockable snap portion of theelectrical connector assembly 100 of the present disclosure. The wireend case 103 is provided with snap protrusions 114 at both sides of theoutside of the wire end case 103, and the rear end of the board endconnector shell 101 is provided with a slot 115. After the wire endconnector 107 is inserted into the board end connector 106, the lockablesnap 105 is pressed such that the lockable snap 105 is snapped into theslot 115, the snap protrusion 114 is abutted against the lockable snap105, and the guide piece 110 is accommodated in the guide slot 112.Because the guide piece 110 fastens the wire end case 103 of the wireend connector 107, the wire end connector 107 may lower the displacementin the direction of the vertical butt joint, in which the guideprojection 111 and the snap protrusion 114 are disposed on both sides ofthe guide piece 110. Due to the design of disposing the guide projection111 and the snap protrusion 114 on both sides of the guide piece 110, itis possible to prevent the movement of the wire end connector 107 causedby the excessive bending of the wire on the side of the wire endconnector 107 and also prevent the electrical connector assembly 100from being warped upward thereby resulting in damage.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged schematic view of the engagement portion of theelectrical connector assembly 100 of the present disclosure. As shown inFIG. 7, a step 116 is disposed on a portion of the upper surface of thewire end case 103, which is combined with the board end connector 106,such that after the wire end connector 107 is combined with the boardend connector 106, a portion of the wire end case 103 is embedded in theboard end connector shell 101 to form an overlapping portion, which canprevent the peripheral circuit or device from interfering with theelectrical connector assembly 100. In other words, the board endconnector shell 101 covers a portion of the wire end case 103 along adirection perpendicular to the printed circuit board 109.

The lockable snap 105 is movable between a first position (see FIG. 6)where the board end connector 106 and the wire end connector 107 are inan unlocking status and a second position (see FIG. 2) where the boardend connector 106 and the wire end connector 107 are in a lockingstatus. In the illustrated embodiment of the present disclosure, thelockable snap 105 is pivotal between the first position and the secondposition. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the lockable snap 105 includes afirst arm rod 105 a, a second arm rod 105 b and an end rod 105 cconnecting the first arm rod 105 a and the second arm rod 105 b. Thefirst arm rod 105 a and the second arm rod 105 b are pivotally mountedto two opposite sides of the wire end connector 107, respectively.Furthermore, the lockable snap 105 includes a loosen strap 105 d whichis mounted to the end rod 105 c. The loosen strap 105 d is adapted forexternal force to apply in order to unlock the board end connector 106and the wire end connector 107 by driving the lockable snap 105 from thesecond position to the first position.

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of the board end connector 106 of the presentdisclosure. As shown in FIG. 8, the board end connector 106 includes anupper layer and a lower layer of terminals 117 with a conductive plastic118 disposed therebetween for optimizing the signal integrity resonanceof the electrical connector assembly 100.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a system using the electrical connectorassembly 100 of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9, the system10 of the present disclosure includes a chip 11, a heat dissipationmodule 12, and the electrical connector assembly 100. As shown, theelectrical connector assembly 100 is disposed below the heat dissipationmodule 12 and is disposed at a side of the chip 11. Therefore, the spacebelow the heat dissipation module 12 can be fully utilized, the space ofthe printed circuit board is utilized to the maximum extent, and theproblem that the CPU occupies the space due to the increased size of theheat dissipation module is solved.

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the electrical connector assembly 100 ofthe present disclosure. Its specific structure has been explained andthe same contents will not be repeated.

The present disclosure may be embodied in other forms, various changesand modifications may be made by one skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit or essence of the invention, and thecorresponding changes and modifications will fall into the scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electrical connector assembly, comprising: afirst connector comprising a first connector shell and a first connectorbody arranged in the first connector shell; and a second connectorcomprising a second case and a tongue plate; wherein one of the firstconnector and the second connector is provided with at least one guidepiece, and a remaining one of the first connector and the secondconnector is provided with at least one guide slot, the first connectorand the second connector are guided to mated with each other via the atleast one guide piece being received in the at least one guide slot; theat least one guide slot has an opening to receive the at least one guidepiece, and the first connector comprises at least one welding footextended from the first connector shell and adapted for being mounted toa printed circuit board; wherein one of the first connector and thesecond connector comprises a lockable snap pivotal between a firstposition where the first connector and the second connector are in anunlocking status, and a second position where the first connector andthe second connector are in a locking status; wherein the lockable snapcomprises a first arm rod, a second arm rod and an end rod connectingthe first arm rod and the second arm rod; the first arm rod and thesecond arm rod are pivotally mounted to two opposite sides of one of thefirst connector and the second connector, respectively; wherein thelockable snap comprises a loosen strap which is mounted to the end rod,the loosen strap is adapted for an external force to apply in order tounlock the first connector and the second connector by driving thelockable snap from the second position to the first position; whereinthe remaining one of the first connector and the second connectordefines a slot in which the lockable snap is snapped at the secondposition.
 2. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein theat least one guide piece is provided on the first connector shell. 3.The electrical connector assembly of claim 2, wherein the lockable snapis provided on the second connector.
 4. The electrical connectorassembly of claim 3, wherein the second connector is provided with atleast one snap protrusion to abut against the lockable snap at thesecond position.
 5. The electrical connector assembly of claim 3,wherein the second connector is provided with two snap protrusions atopposite sides thereof, one of the two snap protrusions abuts againstthe first arm rod at the second position, and another one of the twosnap protrusions abuts against the second arm rod at the secondposition.
 6. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein theat least one guide piece comprises two guide pieces which are arrangedon both sides of the tongue plate, respectively.
 7. The electricalconnector assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one welding foot isdisposed at one end of the at least one guide piece.
 8. The electricalconnector assembly of claim 1, wherein the second case comprises a mainportion and at least one guide projection extending from the mainportion for mating with the at least one guide piece; and wherein the atleast one guide piece is disposed between the at least one guideprojection and the main portion of the second case.
 9. The electricalconnector assembly of claim 1, wherein the first connector shell and thesecond case on the printed circuit board each has a height less than 3.7mm.
 10. The electrical connector assembly of claim 9, wherein the firstconnector shell covers a portion of the second case along a directionperpendicular to the printed circuit board.
 11. The electrical connectorassembly of claim 9, wherein the electrical connector assembly isadapted for being arranged on the printed circuit board and locatedbelow a heat sink of a chip.
 12. The electrical connector assembly ofclaim 1, wherein the first connector is a board end connector and thesecond connector is a wire end connector for mating with the board endconnector.
 13. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein theat least one guide piece is extended from one of the first connectorshell and the second case; and wherein the at least one guide slot isprovided on the remaining one of the first connector shell and thesecond case.
 14. An electrical connector assembly, comprising: a firstconnector comprising a first connector shell and a first connector bodyarranged in the first connector shell; and a second connector comprisinga second case and a tongue plate; wherein at least one guide piece isextended from one of the first connector shell and the second case, anda remaining one of the first connector shell and the second case isprovided with at least one guide slot, the first connector and thesecond connector are guided to mated with each other via the at leastone guide piece being received in the at least one guide slot; whereinthe at least one guide slot has an opening to receive the at least oneguide piece, and the first connector comprises at least one welding footextended from the first connector shell and adapted for being mounted toa printed circuit board; and wherein the at least one welding foot isdisposed adjacent to the at least one guide piece.
 15. The electricalconnector assembly of claim 14, wherein the second connector comprises aloosen strap adapted for an external force to apply in order to unlockthe second connector and the first connector.
 16. The electricalconnector assembly of claim 15, wherein the second case is provided witha lockable snap to be buckled with the first connector shell.
 17. Theelectrical connector assembly of claim 14, wherein one of the firstconnector and the second connector comprises a lockable snap pivotalbetween a first position where the first connector and the secondconnector are in an unlocking status, and a second position where thefirst connector and the second connector are in a locking status;wherein the lockable snap comprises a first arm rod, a second arm rodand an end rod connecting the first arm rod and the second arm rod; thefirst arm rod and the second arm rod are pivotally mounted to twoopposite sides of one of the first connector and the second connector,respectively.
 18. The electrical connector assembly of claim 17, whereinthe lockable snap comprises a loosen strap which is mounted to the endrod, the loosen strap is adapted for an external force to apply in orderto unlock the first connector and the second connector by driving thelockable snap from the second position to the first position; whereinthe remaining one of the first connector and the second connectordefines a slot in which the lockable snap is snapped at the secondposition.
 19. The electrical connector assembly of claim 17, wherein thesecond connector is provided with two snap protrusions at opposite sidesthereof, one of the two snap protrusions abuts against the first arm rodat the second position, and another one of the two snap protrusionsabuts against the second arm rod at the second position.
 20. Anelectrical connector for connecting at least one wire to a matingconnector, the electrical connector comprising: a wire end case and atongue plate; wherein the wire end case comprises a main portion and atleast one guide projection for at least one guide piece of the matingconnector being disposed between the at least one guide projection andthe main portion of the wire end case; the electrical connectorcomprises a loosen strap adapted for external force to apply in order tounlock the electrical connector and the mating connector; the wire endcase is provided with a lockable snap configured to be buckled with themating connector; the lockable snap is movable between a first positionwhere the electrical connector and the mating connector are in anunlocking status and a second position where the electrical connectorand the mating connector are in a locking status; the lockable snap ispivotal between the first position and the second position, the lockablesnap comprises a first arm rod, a second arm rod and an end rodconnecting the first arm rod and the second arm rod, and the first armrod and the second arm rod are pivotally mounted to two opposite sidesof the electrical connector, respectively; and wherein the lockable snapcomprises the loosen strap which is mounted to the end rod, the loosenstrap is adapted for external force to apply in order to unlock theelectrical connector and the mating connector by driving the lockablesnap from the second position to the first position.
 21. The electricalconnector of claim 20, wherein the lockable snap is configured to bebuckled with a connector shell of the mating connector.
 22. Theelectrical connector of claim 20, wherein the wire end case is providedwith at least one guide slot for creating a butt joint with the at leastone guide piece of the mating connector, and wherein the at least oneguide slot has an opening to receive the at least one guide piece of themating connector.
 23. The electrical connector of claim 20, wherein thewire end case has a height less than 3.7 mm.
 24. The electricalconnector of claim 23, wherein the mating connector is disposed adjacentto a chip; and wherein the electrical connector and the mating connectorare adapted for being arranged on a printed circuit board and locatedbelow a heat sink of the chip.